EdgeConneX has been granted property tax breaks for its new data center development in Elk Grove, Illinois.
At a meeting last week, Elk Grove Village officials endorsed a proposed Cook County property tax break for EdgeConneX. The company is to develop a new 22MW facility on the acquired plots of land.
According to council documents, the company applied for Cook County Class 6B property tax exemption for certain real estate in the Chicago suburb located at 1700 Nicholas Boulevard, 2055 Lunt Avenue, 2101-2105 Lunt Avenue, and 2139-2145 Lunt Avenue.
6B status – granted to new construction or substantial renovation – allows the owner of the property to have the tax assessment level lowered for a period of twelve years. The Daily Herald reports the council approved the tax breaks.
EdgeConnex reportedly intends to demolish the existing properties it has acquired on Lunt Avenue and construct a new 167,000 sq ft (15,500 sqm), 22MW two-story data center building. It is anticipated to begin work in Q2 or Q3 of 2022 and invest some $210 million in the project; construction would be due to be completed by December 2023.
“The 6(b) incentive is necessary to enable the project to be economically feasible,” the company said in its filing. “Eligibility for the 6(b) tax incentive has been a key assumption in EdgeConneX’s financial modeling and the absence of the 6(b) incentive would have a significant adverse impact on both the financial and competitive feasibility of the Project.”
The filings note EdgeConneX has already begun work on phase one of its expansion plan to convert an existing warehouse building at the nearby 2021 Lunt Avenue. It currently operates a data center in Elk Grove Village located at 1800 Nicholas Boulevard.
The existing properties and the renovated property on Lunt Avenue are a series of single-story buildings behind the company’s existing facility in Elk Grove.
EQT Infrastructure-owned EdgeConneX last year announced plans to expand six of its data centers across the US, including in the Chicago area.
On its website, the company says the upcoming 6MW CHI02 facility – possibly the warehouse renovation at 2021 Lunt Avenue – will be ready for service in Q3 2022. The company notes the 20MW CHI01 is already at full capacity.
The village board also supported a tax break for a proposal from Bridge Industrial to construct a 58,858-square-foot industrial speculative building on vacant land the firm is buying at 81 Northwest Point Blvd.
